Ammunition-loading apparatus.



A. T. DAWSON L L HORNE.

AMMuNlTloN LoADlNG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2| 191'3. l 1,182,989. Patented May16,1916.

A. T. DAWSON 6L J. HORNE.

AMMUNITION LOADING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2| I9I3 v I Patented May16, 1916.

2 SHEETS--SHEET Z- UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON, 0F WESTMINSTER, LONDON, AND` JAMES HORNE, 0F

BARROW-IN-FURNESS, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO VICKERS LIMITED, OF WEST- MINSTER, ENGLAND.

lAlVIMUNITION-LOADIN'Gr APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1916.

Original application filed November 5, 1912, Serial No. 729,564. Divided and this application led December 2, 1913. Serial No. 804,163.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, ARTHUR TREvoR DAWSON, knight, and JAMES HoRNE, both subjects of the King of Great Britain, residing, respectively, at Vickers House, Broadway, ldfestminster, in the county of London, England, and Naval Construction Vorks, Barrow-in-Furness, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ammunition-Loading Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus of the kind in which the powder charges and the projectile are raised in a lower cage to a working chamber wherein the said powder charges and projectile are transferred from the lower cage to an upper or gun loading cage by which they are carried to the breech of the gun.

According to this invention the powder charge holder of the gun loading cage is adapted to be automatically moved to and from its loading position by means under the control of the rammer in such manner that as the rammer reaches its withdrawn position after each forward 'stroke the holder is angularly displaced to the required extent.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, we will describe the same more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figures 1 and 2 are a side elevation and an end elevation of the gun loading cage showing means for automatically moving the powder charge holder. Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively an end elevation and a sectional plan showing more clearly the mechanism for automatically moving the powder charge holder7 and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a part of this mechanism.

The gun loading cage B comprises the rotary powder charge holder B and the projectile tray B2, the latter being, in the examples shown, pivoted to the cage by a transverse pivot b2 to enable the tray to assume an inclined position during the ascent and descent of the cage as is well understood. The powder charge holder B is provided with two separate compartments b b and is adapted to be rocked about a pivot B in order to bring its compartments successively opposite the breech 'chamber of the gun for loading, the said pivot being equidistant from the axes of the compartments Z), b and the axis of the gun.

The means for automatically moving the holder B" comprise a hydraulic cylinder B4 lixed to the loading arm, the ram of which is connected to a rack member 54 that engages with a pinion 54X connected to or integral with a. tappet lever BM. The cage B has a bracket B5 which carries a disk b5 provided with a projecting stud 55X which bears against the shoulder of the tappet lever as shown. The said disk is connected through a shaft 226, and a pinion b* to a second pinion BG on the pivot BX of the holder B. The hydraulic cylinder B4t is under the control of a valve B0 (Fig. l) which is arranged in such manner that as the cage reaches its loading position it is operated to place the right hand end of the cylinder to exhaust so that the pressure fluid constantly acting on the left hand face of the ram tends to displace the latter to the right, but is prevented from doing so by the spring bolt B5* which passes through a. hole in the disk b5 and engages with a recess in the bracket B5. The said bolt is carried by the disk b5 as are also two other similar bolts 58, b9.

Arranged contiguous to the rammer head A0 (Fig. 3) is a lever B7 mounted on a spring controlled shaft B7X having an arm 5T adapted to coperate with a bell crank lever 57X appertaining to the spring bolt BSX. When the rammer head moves forward to ram the shell the shaft B7X is moved by its spring so that the arm 227 assumes a position out of the path of the lower arm of the bell crank lever 6"* which is then moved to the left, (Fig. 3) by a light spring which bears on the upper arm of the lever 57X and is carried by the bolt BEX. On the rammer being withdrawn, the head A cooperates with the lever B7 to cause the arm bl to engage with the right side of the lower arm of the lever 57X and thereby withdraw the spring bolt B5X clear of its recess in the bracket B5. The ram and the rack member o* attached thereto can now move and in so doing displaces the holder B about its pivot BX through the aforesaid gearing until the first half powder charge is in line for ramming, whereupon the holder is locked by the engagement of the second spring bolt bs with the aforesaid recess in the bracket B5, this bolt having moved with the disk into the position previously occupied by the bolt B5X. During this movement, the ram has been displaced a certain distance toward the right. The rst half charge is then rammed and when the rammer head returns, the said second bolt b5 is released by the engagement of the arm b5 with the bell crank lever 55X in a similar manner to that described with reference to the bolt B5X, whereupon the holder B is displaced as before until its movement is stopped by the engagement of the third spring bolt b9 with the recess in the bracket B5 when the second half powder charge is in line for ramming. During this movement, the ram has been displaced toward the right a further distance equal to that mentioned in connection with the rst displacement of the holder B. The latter half charge is then rammed and on the rammer head returning, the bolt b5 is released as described with reference to the bolts B5X and b5. The powder holder is again angularly displaced until it resumes its normal position (after having completed one revolution) and is then locked by the spring bolt B5X, the ram moving a further equal distance to the right. When the cage is being lowered the disk b5 moves clear of the tappet lever BtX on the loading arm, the aforesaid control valve is operated in the direction to admit pressure fluid to the right hand end of the cylinder B4 and the ram and the parts operated thereby are thus restored to their original position as shown in Figs. 2 and 4f, the ram thus returning to the position shown in Fig. 3 in being displaced to the left a distance equal to the sum of the distances through which it was moved on the return strokes of the rammer.

In the example illustrated a portion B2X of the projectile tray B2 of the gun loading cage, namely the part adjacent to the powder holder B, is hinged longitudinally by the spindle 62"* to the Xed part so as to be capable of being lowered automatically when the powder holder B is being moved about its pivot BX to bring the powder charges into the ramming positions.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus for heavy ordnance, the combination with. the projectile tray of the gun loading cage, of a powder charge holder having separate powder charge compartments, means for rotatably mounting said holder relatively to the said tray, and means brought into operation by the return movements of the rammer for automatically displacing said holder.

2. In ammunition hoisting and loading apparatusfor heavy ordnance, the combination with the gun loading cage, of a powder charge holder havingV separate powder charge compartments, means for rotatably mounting said holder, a hydraulic press connected to said holder, a control valve for said press, and a device on the gun loading cage for coperating with said valve.

3. In ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus for heavy ordnance, the combination with the projectile tray of the gun loading cage, of a powder charge holder having separate powder charge compartments, means for rotatably mounting said holder relatively to said tray, a hydraulic press connected to said holder, a control valve for said press, a device on the gun loading cage for coperating with the valve to cause it to admit pressure fluid to said press, and means operated by the rammer for normally preventing said press from moving the holder.

4. In ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus for heavy ordnance, the combination with the projectile tray of the gun loading cage, of a powder charge holder having separate powder charge compartments, means for rotatably mounting said holder relatively to said tray, a hydraulic press connected to said holder, a Vcontrol valve for said press, a device on the gun loading cage for coperating with the valve to cause it to admit pressure fluid to said press, and means operated by the rammer for normally preventing said press from moving the holder, and when so operated for allowing the press to move the holder only to a predetermined extent.

5. In ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus for heavy ordnance, the combination with the projectile tray of the gun loading cage, of a powder charge holder having separate powder charge compartments, means for rotatably mounting said holder relatively to said tray, a hydraulic press connected to said holder, a member moved by said press, a member connected to said holder, a spring bolt device for normally connecting the two members together, and means under the control of the rammer for moving said spring bolt device into the disconnected position.

6. In ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus for heavy ordnance, the combina- In testimony whereof we affix our signatures 1n presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON. JAMES HORNE.

Witnesses to the signature of Arthur Trevor Dawson:

HENRY KING, JN0. R. CASWELL. Witnesses to the signature of James Horne.

W. H. ATKINSON, A. D. LLOYD.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner ot Patents, Washington, D. C. 

